


I'm With You in the Dark

by TheGreatWave74



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Kawakami needs a hug, Rarepair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:48:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29178993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatWave74/pseuds/TheGreatWave74
Summary: Kawakami's double life as both a teacher and a maid has taken a heavy toll on her, both physically and mentally. Even so, Takemi won't let her deal with her struggles alone.
Relationships: Kawakami Sadayo/Takemi Tae
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	I'm With You in the Dark

* * *

Takemi doesn't need to be a genius to know that Kawakami is finally home. The slow, agonizing creak of her bedroom door is enough to alert the doctor to her partner's late return. And it also didn't take an expert to understand the brutal toll her two jobs had taken on her.

She looks up from the novel in her hands and sees the teacher-slash-maid standing underneath the wooden frame. Even with her lamp as dim as it was, Takemi could clearly make out Kawakami's weariness as if it was clear as day. Her tired eyes. Her shallow breaths. Her slumped posture. All telltale signs of severe physical exhaustion. No matter how many times she sees her like this, the sight of the woman she loves looking so utterly defeated always breaks her heart. She can't stand it in the slightest.

"Rough day, huh?" She gently whispers, her voice laden with deep concern.

Her girlfriend doesn't even bother to say anything back. She's far too tired to even speak, let alone make some kind of retort. She simply lets out a defeated sigh as she strips down to her lacy black panties and then promptly collapses face down onto the bed, her figure immediately going stiff as a board.

Takemi frowned in displeasure, letting out a faint huff as she gazed at Kawakami's still form. Nights like these were never easy to deal with. But even so, the dark-blue haired woman refused to leave the woman of her dreams looking like… this. She was a medical professional, damn it! How could she possibly abandon anyone who looked so defeated?

She set her book down and gets to work immediately. She leaned up from her reclining position and slipped her arms underneath Kawakami's armpits. The former maid doesn't put up a fight whatsoever as Takemi manages to pull her under the covers, the doctor struggling somewhat with the task. When that's done, she sighs deeply, exhausted by the whole ordeal, and shuts off her lamp, engulfing the pair in total darkness.

They're both facing each other now, lying idly on their sides in nothing but their underwear. Takemi has her arms wrapped around Kawakami's torso, and she pulled the drained woman flush against her own body. Despite how inactive the teacher was at this moment, she felt incredibly warm to the touch, like a raging inferno. In any other circumstance, Takemi might have savored the feeling a bit more, but the doctor was far more invested in comforting her weary lover. This held far more importance than a little skinship.

Takemi looks Kawakami straight in the eyes. There hardly seems to be any life in them. "Do you want to tell me about your day?" She softly asks.

"...No." Kawakami's voice is no louder than a whisper. Takemi can practically _feel_ the despondency emanating from her tone.

"Alright, then… you don't have to tell me." She decides not to push any further than she already has. "Just get some rest, ok?" Her partner doesn't respond. Not physically, at least. Kawakami merely gives a tiny groan to show that she understood her request, but doesn't go any farther than that.

As much as Takemi wants to keep helping, there's not really anything else she could do right now other than hold her close. It hurts so much, not being able to do more for her lover. Reluctantly, she allows her eyes to quietly flutter shut amidst the blackness of her room.

She's just about to fall asleep when a voice breaks the deafening silence.

"...I don't know if I can do this any longer, Tae…" Takemi's eyes snap open at Kawakami's sudden plea. Her heart sinks immediately when she sees the thin line of tears streaming down her tired face. A horrified gasp escaped her lips at the sight.

"Sadayo…?" A hand immediately goes to cup her partner's left cheek, with her fingers brushing aside the mess of ruffled hair concealing it. "Hey, don't start talking like that…! You sound like you're thinking about…" Takemi didn't want to finish that sentence. Not in the slightest. “I think you need to take tomorrow off.”

"I can’t.”

“Sadayo--”

“I can’t, Tae. I just can’t.” Kawakami’s voice sounds so… weak. “They found me out.”

Takemi blinks in surprise. “They… what?”

“Takase’s parents… They found out I’m moonlighting part-time as a maid to pay them.” Kawakami’s breath starts to hitch as soon as she speaks. “I confronted them this morning at Shujin. I told them that I wasn’t going to pay them anymore because of how _fucking_ unfair it was. I thought they were going to back down after all this time, but instead, they just told me that they knew all along that I was a… a maid. And that I was… working for a company that also hires prostitutes.”

Takemi’s eyes widened in horror. “No…!”

“But do you know what’s even worse?” Silence overtakes the pair for a moment. “They’re threatening to blackmail me if I don’t pay them even more than I already am.” Kawakami’s body starts to shake erratically as her internal conflict begins overwhelming her. For the first time that night, Takemi can actually see the chaotic swirl of emotions in her eyes. “If… If I don’t do that, then… they’ll leak my other job to the school board, and… I’ll lose my job as a teacher!”

Takemi stares dumbfounded for a moment before her face becomes contorted with anger. She curses under her breath as her free hand clenched into a tightly-balled fist. “Those… bastards…!”

Kawakami’s voice, once meek and lifeless, was now consumed with fear as tears fell freely down the sides of her face. “I… I can’t lose my job as a teacher, Tae! I-I… I… just can’t! I always dreamed of being one my whole life, and I…! I…!” 

That’s all she can manage to say before finally breaking down as tears drenched her already pained expression.

Without warning, Kawakami vigorously coils her arms around Takemi, latching onto the doctor as if her entire life is on the line, and buries her face in the crook of her partner’s neck, not holding anything back as her loud wailing echo across the room. For a moment, Takemi doesn’t quite know what to do. But almost instinctively, she starts to gently stroke her exposed back as she cries. She recalls her parents doing something similar when she was younger, so at the very least, she had some idea of how to go about this.

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, with Takemi holding her lover close and Kawakami letting her tears fall freely. By the time Kawakami managed to slightly calm down, neither woman knew just how much time had passed. It probably wasn't all that healthy, considering the frizzy-haired teacher's lack of sleep, but this seemed like something she really, really needed. Especially now, when her world was on the brink of collapsing.

"Feeling any better?" Takumi asks cautiously.

"…A little." Kawakami nods her head shakily. Her breathing is still a little uneven, but compared to a short while ago, it's a lot more composed. "I… I'm so sorry you have to see me like this. I know I'm your girlfriend and that it's okay to talk about this stuff, but--"

"No," Takemi presses a finger to her lips, momentarily stunning Kawakami, "don't ever be sorry for crying." She states with no hesitation. "You're going through something that no one, and I mean, _no one_ , should ever experience. It's only natural that you would feel so overwhelmed by… all of this. It's perfectly okay to cry. If anything, holding it all back will just hurt you even more."

Kawakami doesn't respond for a few moments. She just stares wordlessly at the woman across from her, as if looking at a ghost. But then, the tears start to build in the corners of her eyes once more. However, instead of appearing sad, she seems… relieved, grateful, even, and Takemi can’t help but smile at the sight.

“That… means a lot to me.” She sniffled just a tiny bit. “Thank you. I… I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

A light giggle escaped Takemi’s throat. “We’ll get through this together, Sadayo. I’ll see to it myself.”

“But… how?” Kawakami asked, raising a brow.

“Well… I think I know someone who might be able to help us.”

“Huh? You… You do?” Kawakami looks at her like she has a second head attached to her shoulder. 

Takemi nods. “Yeah. If there’s anyone who can help you… help _us_ , it’s him.” The doctor’s eyes seemed to light up in faint recollection. “I’ll give him a call tomorrow. With any luck, he’ll take care of those two assholes the same day I ask him. And then, when everything is said and done… we can finally see about saving up for that tropical vacation to Hawaii you always wanted.”

Though obviously confused by her suggestion, including the identity of this person who could supposedly solve her problems, the last comment is enough to incite a small chuckle from Kawakami. The sound alone makes Takemi’s smile grow. 

“Even now, you’re always thinking about our future together, huh?”

“I wouldn’t be much of a girlfriend if I didn’t.” Takemi cooly replies.

Takemi then takes the flat of her thumb and wipes away the last of Kawakami's tears. She rests her hand atop the left side of her face, and Kawakami gingerly placed her own hand on top of it, sampling her partner’s warmth.

“And, Sadayo… even if things go sour tomorrow for whatever reason... don't forget that I’ll always be with you. Even if the whole damn world turns against you, I’ll stay by your side. Not as a doctor… but as the woman who loves you with all her heart. I promise.”

"Tae…" Kawakami's eyes start to fill with what looked to be hope. It was faint, but it was definitely there. "What did I ever do to deserve someone like you?" She smiled wryly at the blue-haired woman.

"Everything. You did everything to deserve me, Sadayo." Takemi shifted a bit as her face slowly inched closer to Kawakami’s own. "You made me laugh. You made me happy. You… You made me feel like an actual human being. That's more than enough for me."

"Tae…"

As if it were an automatic response, both their eyes slowly closed as Takemi planted a gentle, fleeting kiss against Kawakami’s lips. They felt soft, and warm, and moist, just like they always did. Takemi can feel her messy-haired lover lean ever so slightly into the kiss, and the doctor lets out a hum of contentment as they happily embrace each other, temporarily free of reality. 

Just as quickly as they kissed, the couple parted for air just a few seconds later. When Takemi gazed at her lover's face, for the briefest of moments, it looked as if she had been completely revitalized, almost like her fatigue hadn't existed to begin with.

"I love you, Tae." Kawakami confesses, the smile on her face illuminating the entire bedroom.

"I love you too, Sadayo. My little bumblebee~" They both share another giggle before Takemi teasingly pokes her partner's nose. "Now go to sleep. Doctor's orders. You need rest, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

“Yeah," Kawakami let out a deep yawn. "I'll do just that." The former maid proceeded nuzzled against her partner's comfortable chest, and in no time at all, her eyes gently fluttered shut. Even then, however, the faint smile on her face remained.

"You'll be free of them soon enough. " She gently whispered, placing one last kiss atop her forehead before closing her eyes and allowing the sweet sensation of sleep to overtake her mind. She should probably get some rest while she could.

Tomorrow would be a big day for them, after all, and she and her precious guinea pig would certainly be busy.

**Author's Note:**

> Why is it that I can't write or post any stories other than cuddling in bed after a hard day? Is that weird? Am I weird?
> 
> Well, either way, I hope you enjoyed this rarepair story!


End file.
